HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University used a 9-0 run in the third quarter to break open a tight game with Concordia Irvine on the way to a 77-61 PacWest Conference win on Thursday evening at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
 
The defending PacWest Conference Champion Sharks (11-5, 9-1) won their fourth consecutive contest and 10th in the last 11 games with the triumph. The Eagles (5-10, 4-6) lost for the second time in the last three games. HPU remains a game in the loss column behind the lead in the PacWest.
 
After five ties and six lead changes, HPU got a layup from sophomore McKenzie Alton of Sammamish, Wash./Bellarmine Prep to key the 9-0 third quarter run that put the Sharks up to stay. HPU led by double digits for most of the final quarter.
 
The Sharks had fairly balanced scoring, with five players in double figures. Freshmen Abbey Noblett and Amy Baum led the way with 14 points each. Noblett from Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic also posted six rebounds, while Baum, from Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary double-doubled with 10 assists to go with five rebounds and two steals. Senior Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS posted 13 points with five boards and four steals. Sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion chipped in 11 points and senior Breanna Mackenzie of Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill scored 10 points with a team-best seven rebounds.
 
CUI's Kennedy Fulcher led all scorers with 22 points and 12 rebounds, with Riley Friauf tallied 15 points sixth six boards. Michaela Vanderklugt scored 14 points with four boards.
 
The Sharks shot 46 percent from the floor (29-of-63), but only 20 percent (3-of-15) from the 3-point arc. HPU connected on 84 percent (16-of-19) of its attempts from the foul line. CUI hit 41 percent from the field (22-of-54), and 27 percent (4-of-15) from the arc. The Sea Lions were 13-of-18 (72 percent) from the charity stripe. The teams each had 34 rebounds, with HPU suffering 10 turnovers and CUI 18.
 
HPU opened the game with an 11-0 run to take a 13-2 first quarter lead on a Baum layup, but the Eagles answered with a 9-0 run to end the quarter with HPU leading 13-2.
 
Vanderklugt opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer to snatch the lead from HPU and extend the run to 12-0. Then for the next six possessions the lead swapped hands before the Sharks got on top and extended their advantage to seven with a layup from Baum just before the halftime buzzer.
 
The third found another Eagles 7-0 run to tie the game for a fourth time. After a Mackenzie layup, Fulcher added a layup to for another tie at 42 before Alton's score started the 9-0 run. A jumper from junior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt ended the quarter with HPU up 55-45.
 
Concordia got the first score of the final quarter, then Mackenzie added a layup to start a 9-2 run capped by a Baum layup. The Sharks kept a double-digit lead the rest of the way, eventually building an 18-point lead before settling for the 77-61 win.
 
The Sharks are off until next week when they visit the Bay Area, starting with a date next Thursday against Notre Dame de Namur. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. HST (5:30 PST).